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MOFCOM Announcement No.67 of 2017 on Case-filing of Anti-dumping Investigation against Imports of Ethanolamine Originated in the United States, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Thailand

2017-11-7 8:31:50

On September 28, 2017, the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the "Ministry of Commerce") received an application for anti-dumping investigation formally submitted by Jiaxing Jinyan Chemical Co., Ltd., Hubei Xianlin Chemical Co., Ltd., Shanghai Fujia Fine Chemical Co., Ltd., Oriental Petrochemical (Yangzhou) Corporation, Lotte Chemical (Jiaxing) Corp. and Maoming Shihua Dongcheng Chemical Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the "Applicants") on behalf of the domestic industry of ethanolamine, in which the Applicants requested the anti-dumping investigation against imports of ethanolamine originated in the United States, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Thailand. In accordance with the Anti-dumping Regulations of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the "Anti-dumping Regulations"), the Ministry of Commerce reviewed the qualification of the Applicants, the situation relating to the products to be investigated according to the application and the like products in China, the influence of the products to be investigated on the domestic industry, and the situation relating to the country (region) subject to investigation.

According to evidence provided by the Applicants and the preliminary review of the Ministry of Commerce, the outputs of ethanolamine of the Applicants in the year 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively represented more than 50% of the total outputs of like products in China during the same period, which conformed to provisions in Article 11 and Article 13 of the Anti-dumping Regulations on application for anti-dumping investigation submitted by the relevant domestic industry. Meanwhile, the application contained details and relevant evidence required in accordance with Article 14 and Article 15 of the Anti-dumping Regulations for case-filing of anti-dumping investigations.

In accordance with the above mentioned review results and the provisions of Article 16 of the Anti-dumping Regulations, the Ministry of Commerce decided to initiate an anti-dumping investigation against imports of ethanolamine originated in the United States, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Thailand as of October 30, 2017. Relevant matters are now hereby announced as follows:

I. Case-filing of Investigation and Investigation Period

As of the date of the Announcement, the Ministry of Commerce conducts the case-filing of anti-dumping investigations against imports of ethanolamine originated in the United States, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Thailand within an investigation period from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017, and the investigation period of industry injury is from January 1, 2014 to June 30, 2017.

II. Products under Investigation and Scope of Investigation

Scope of investigation: imports of ethanolamine originated in the United States, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Thailand.
Name of products under investigation: ethanolamine (including monoethanolamine, miethanolamine and triethanolamine) or EA
Monoethanolamine: also known as 2-Aminoethanol, 2-Aminoethylalcoho or MEA
Chemical formula: H2NCH2CH2OH
Structural formula:
Diethanolamine: also known as 2, 2'-Dihydroxydiethylamine, 2,2'-Iminodiethanol or DEA
Chemical formula: HN(CH2CH2OH)2
Structural formula:
Triethanolamine: also known as Tris(2-Hydroxyethyl)amine, Trihydroxytriethylamine or TEA
Chemical formula: (HOC2H4)3N
Structural formula:
Physical and chemical characteristics: ethanolamine is a collective name of monoethanolamine, diethanolamine and triethanolamine. Generally obtained by the reaction of oxirane and liquid ammonia, it is a kind of ethanolamine organic compound with some common characteristics of amine and alcohol. It is usually a kind of colorless or light yellow liquid, and appears to be colorless or light yellow solid below the melting point with a light smell of amine. It features moisture absorption, soluble in water and alcohol and slightly soluble in phenyl and ether.

Main purposes: ethanolamine is mainly used to produce surfactant, intermediates for agricultural chemicals and medicine, chemic necessities and personal hygiene. It can also be used to produce emulsifiers, fluorescence whitening agent VBL, refining (acid) gas treating agents, cement grinding aids, cutting fluids, water reducers, industrial antifreeze, petroleum additives, leather softeners, lubricant anti-corrosive agents and anti-carbon additives, and it is widely used in industries of industrial cleaning, gas purification, pesticide and pharmaceutical, daily chemical industry, textile printing and dyeing, construction and building materials, metal processing.

The products are listed under tariff numbers of 29221100, 29221200 and 29221310 in the Customs Import and Export Tariff of the People's Republic of China. The investigation does not cover any products other than EA, MEA and TEA that are listed under the tariff numbers mentioned above.

III. Registration for Participating in the Investigation

Any interested party may, within 20 days from the release of the Announcement, register with the Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau of MOFCOM for responding, and then shall, in accordance with the Reference Format for Responding to Anti-dumping Investigation, provide the basic identity information, the volume and value of the products under investigation exported to or imported to China and the volume and value of similar products produced and sold and other related information. The Reference Format for Responding to Anti-dumping Investigation is available for downloading from the relevant websites attached (the same below).

The interested party referred to herein shall be any individual or entity under Article 19 of the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Anti-dumping.

IV. Access to Public Information

Any interested party may access to the relevant websites to download or go to the reading consultation room of trade relief public information of the Ministry of Commerce (Tel.: 0086-10-65197878) to review, consult, copy and reproduce non-confidential text of the petition submitted by the Petitioner of the case. In the course of investigation, any interested party may view the public information of the case on the websites mentioned above or go to the consultation room of trade relief public information of the Ministry of Commerce to view, consult, copy and reproduce the public information of the case.

V. Comments

Any interested party may submit its written comments to Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau of MOFCOM within 20 days as of the date on which the Announcement is issued if it has any comment on the coverage of the products under this round of investigation, qualification of the Petitioner, countries (regions) under investigation and other related issues.

VI. Investigation Methods

The Ministry of Commerce may adopt the methods of questionnaire, sampling, hearing, on-site verification or other methods to obtain and investigate information from interested parties in accordance with Article 20 of the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Anti-dumping.

In order to obtain the information required for the investigation of the case, the Ministry of Commerce will usually distribute questionnaires to the foreign exporters or producers and domestic producers and importers that are involved in the case within 10 working days upon expiration of the registered response specified in the Announcement. Interested parties registered for the investigation may also download the questionnaire from the relevant websites.

Information inquired in the Questionnaire for Foreign Exporters or Producers of the Anti-dumping Case of Ethanolamine includes such matters as organization and operation of the company, products under investigation, export sales to China (Mainland), domestic sales, operation and financial information, production costs and relevant expenses, estimated dumping margin and verification sheets. The information inquired in the Questionnaire for Domestic Producers of the Anti-dumping Case of Ethanolamine includes the basic information of the company, details of the domestic products of the same kind, operation and relevant information, financial and relevant information as well as other issues required to be stated. The information inquired in the Questionnaire for Domestic Importers of the Anti-dumping Case of Ethanolamine includes the basic information of the company, the trading information of the products under investigation and relevant information.

Any other interested party that does not register for the investigation may directly download the questionnaire from the relevant websites or ask for the same from the Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau of MOFCOM and fill and submit the questionnaire as required.
All companies shall submit their answers to the Questionnaire in a complete and accurate manner within the specified period of time, which shall contain all the information required by the Questionnaire.

VII. Submission and Processing of Confidential Information

If the information submitted by any interested party to the Ministry of Commerce is required to keep confidential, a request to keep such information confidential shall be made to the Ministry of Commerce and relevant reasons shall be stated. If the Ministry of Commerce approves such request, the interested party applying for confidentiality may also provide a non-confidential summary of such confidential information, which shall include sufficient and meaningful information so that other interested parties may have a reasonable understanding of such confidential information. If it fails to provide such non-confidential summary, reasons shall be stated. If the confidentiality is not stated in the information submitted by any interested party, the Ministry of Commerce will deem it as public information.

VIII. Consequences of Non-cooperation

In accordance with Article 21 of the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Anti-dumping, when the Ministry of Commerce is making an investigation, any interested party shall truthfully reflect the situation and provide relevant information. If any interested party fails to do so or fails to provide necessary information within a reasonable time limit or severely impede such investigation, the Ministry of Commerce may make a ruling based on the facts acquired and the best information obtained.

IX. Investigation Period

The investigation shall commence on October 30, 2017 and usually end before October 30, 2018, and may be extended to April 30, 2019 under special circumstances.

X. Contact Information

Address: No.2 Dong Chang'an Avenue, Beijing, China
Postal code: 100731
Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce
Tel.: 0086-10-85093403, 65198490
Fax: 0086-10-65197586
Related websites: Sub-web of Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce (http://trb.mofcom.gov.cn)
China Trade Remedy Information Network (http://www.cacs.mofcom.gov.cn)

Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China
October 30, 2017

 

 

 

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